2010 Tacoma 2wd Auto Access Cab 4cyl Towing Help

I know the towing capacity is suppose to be 3500lbs but I just towed a 400lb trailer with a 400lb ATV and it swayed all over the place and was completely struggling to go up the slightest of hills not to mention the gas mileage was horrendous! Anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to help the situation? I am planning in the future to haul a 400lb ATV in the bed and tow a 600lb ATV on the 400lb trailer but think it just will not be able to accomodate this type of weight.

Also, what is the absolute largest tires and rims I can put without a lift kit or nowhere near scraping the wheel wells?

Thanks for any response someone might want to share concerning this

 

use a lower gear for towing. instead of driving in 5th on the freeway maybe stick to just 4th gear. higher RPMS does not always = less MPG. it all comes down to engine load. maybe think about regearing the rear to 4.56 or something similar.

what engine mods have you done? I would recomment removing the charcoal filter and dropping in an afe pro dry s air filter...that might help breath a little better

 

The truck is brand new from the dealer with a 7 year extended warranty so I do not want to modify anything on it and keep it stock as to not void anything on the warranty. It is an automatic and the speed limit is 70 where I usually drive so I cannot put it in 3rd gear without revving the motor too much.

 

well if you do not want to modify unfortunately you are out of luck! oh and just an FYI you do not void the warranty by simply doing one modification. In order for the truck not to be warrantied then Toyota has to directly correlate the issue they are fighting with you and show proof that what modifications you have done directly affect what broke down

enjoy the new truck and its a 4 cylinder so that the territory you are working with!

 

What was the tongue weight with the ATV loaded?

 

Trailer and ATV was only 800lbs or so and it felt like it could barely tow it today. I only drove 200 miles and used 3/4 of a tank. Something cannot be right when I am reading all the other guys with the 4 banger towing 3500lbs or more with no problems. Again, 800lbs should of been a breeze but it was maxed out as you might say.

 

trailers have to be balanced properly. 10-15% of the total weight is a good range of whats should be on the tongue. take out a bathroom scale and throw it under the tongue to make sure.

 

How many miles are on your truck?

How fast were you driving?

What was the terrain?

What was the tongue weight?

 

8000 miles on truck.
70 mph on the interstate flat for 200 miles.

I am using the bumper hitch but cannot imagine a real hitch making that much of a difference with just the 800lbs I towed this afternoon, maybe I am completely wrong hopefully someone can educate me.

 

I'd definitely get a real hitch that bolts on, and don't use the bumper. A good weight distributing hitch will help with your problems IMO.

 

Are you all saying that towing 800 lbs is too much for the 4 cylinder?

 

I'd get a real hitch and make sure the trailer is sitting level (using the correct drop/rise for the hitch). The bumper is a fairly high point to tow from. Power wise, your truck shouldn't even notice an 800 lb trailer behind it. You should load the trailer so 50 - 60% of the weight is at or in front of the trailer axles. If you put the weight back too far, it'll sway all over the place and make for an unpleasant trip. At 70 mph towing a trailer, you're mpgs are going to drop, no way around it. Take your time, slow down if you can and you'll do better on gas. Even empty you'll do worse at 70 mph vs 60 mph.

 

You must have some type of imbalance going on. I have the same truck as you ('09) and I just brought home a 19' boat yesterday that I bought last week. The boat, trailer, and a full tank of gas is about 3,000 lbs close to the max this truck can legally tow. It was about 75 miles away mostly highway and the truck did marvelous, I was pleasantly surprised it did so well. I have a Curt class III hitch I bought from etrailer.com, if you are going to only tow less than a 1,000 lbs the bumper hitch is plenty.

 

I've towed much more weight with my 5 lug Access Cab. The weight was not your problem. Your weight distributin was.

I routinely tow using third gear to keep the transmission from hunting, particularly with the cruise control, running 60-70 mph. Running in third gear at 70 will not hurt anything except your gas mileage. The transmission programming is different when the cruise control is off and I find it much easier to leave it in fourth gear w/o cruise.

 

I really appreciate all of the responses! It seems the problem is with the weight distribution as the trailer's nose does not sit level and is high when using the bumper hitch. Going to pick up a new Curt III on eBay for $138 shipped and more than likely should correct alot of the issues.

Hey PBucks, with you towing that much weight (3000lbs) did you ever install a transmission cooler or would it even be feasible to install one? The most I will EVER tow would be 1500lbs max so is that enough to slowly burn up the transmission w/o one?

 

..." swaying all over the place .." sounds like the wight isnt distributed right .
As far as 3500 lb, I know my 4 cyl 4wd with 4:10s is rated at that. Is the 2wd also? I think it has 3:33 gears , recheck the manual maybe ( unless u already have checked) , see if yours is the same.
shifting , consider a more steady but slower rate of acceleration , shift on the hills 3500-4000 rpm perhaps , youll slow down some while shifting and the higher rpm will keep you in a decent power range.

 

Hey PBucks, with you towing that much weight (3000lbs) did you ever install a transmission cooler or would it even be feasible to install one? The most I will EVER tow would be 1500lbs max so is that enough to slowly burn up the transmission w/o one?[/quote]


Have not installed a trans cooler yet but if needed one will be installed. Last Saturday is the first time I ever towed with this truck and I kept it in third gear like someone already mentioned. I kept a eye on the engine temperature gauge and it stayed in normal range with A/C on.
Pete

 

I was asked for some pictures of the Curt hitch installed...via pm.

 

Thanks for the pictures!

Two more things - how big is the gap between the top of the receiver and the bottom of the bumper? And does the the hitch stick out past the end of the bumper?

Thanks again,

 

I drove both the auto and 5 speed, and 4wd. The 4wd has 4.10 gears that make tons of difference. I am pulling my 18 ft Champion Bass boat, loaded and it pulls it at 70 on flat ground with no problems in 5th gear, I do have to down shift on some hills,